The Walt Disney Company appears to be coming to terms with the realization that its most iconic character has officially and unequivocally entered the public domain.
According to tech site Mashable, Disney’s reconciliation with this fact stems from a copyright dispute on YouTube.
Mashable chronicled the curious tale of YouTube content creator and voice actor Brock Baker — a comic impressionist — whose comedic take on the 1928 Mickey Mouse film “Steamboat Willie” was swiftly hit with a copyright claim from Disney when it posted on Thursday.
“Steamboat Willie” officially entered the public domain on Jan. 1, 2024, and, to the surprise of nobody, a slew of non-Disney-sanctioned Mickey Mouse-adjacent projects cropped up around that time.
Baker, perhaps in an attempt to test just how far public domain rights extended, essentially posted the entirety of the eight-minute film, with the caveat that he dubbed over the audio track with his own comedic ramblings.
You can see the bit for yourself below:
WARNING: The following clip contains language that some viewers may find offensive
Will Disney crater after more characters head to the public domain?
The eight-minute video is largely just an innocuous — albeit profane — bit of humor, but was still smacked with a copyright claim on YouTube via Disney.
The claim would lead to Baker’s version of “Steamboat Willie” being demonetized, as well as significantly lowering its reach and potential for reach.
Baker challenged the claim, and it appears that Disney relented.
“Disney released their claim and it’s now embeddable and shareable worldwide,” Baker told Mashable.
A YouTube message obtained by Mashable also suggests that Disney “decided to” drop the claim.
“Good news! After reviewing your dispute, Disney has decided to release their copyright claim on your YouTube video,” reads the YouTube email message.
While Baker expressed relief that the copyright dispute was resolved so quickly, his ordeal opens up an interesting can of worms as to what Disney will — and won’t — challenge, as far as copyright claims go.
Beyond YouTube, “Steamboat Willie” entering the public domain has led to a number of highly violent projects that would never be approved under the Disney umbrella.
In December, with the public domain entry looming, Fumi Games announced “MOUSE,” a gritty, noir-inspired shooter that takes more than a few cues from “Steamboat Willie.”
WARNING: The following video clip contains graphic cartoon violence that some may find offensive.
“MOUSE,” however, pales in comparison to the more grotesque takes on “Steamboat Willie.”
“Infestation: Origins” is an asymmetrical multiplayer horror game based on the famous mouse (and actually ended up in some Nazi-related controversy, per IGN).
According to Deadline, there are, not one, but two horror movies (and surely more coming) aiming to utilize “Steamboat Willie.” Both appear to be standard slasher horror movie fare (one of the films is titled “Mickey’s Mouse Trap,” which could lead to some Disney litigation).
It is worth noting that this more cartoonish, black-and-white version of Mickey Mouse (the one featured in “Steamboat Willie”) is the only iteration of this character that has entered the public domain. More modern iterations of the famous rodent are not in the public domain.
